Macsimum Awards: Winter NAMM 2009 Best of Show

Posted by Daniel East Feb 3, 2009 at 5:35am

With contributing reporter Mitch Mestel

This year’s Winter NAMM show was a bit light on attendance by both vendors and visitors, but did display some impressive new products that are worth noting. Given the tightening of so many company budgets from the rough economy, it was surprising to see how many independent or smaller manufacturers presented during the show.

By nearly all accounts, the touring industry expects a boom in the coming year while many studios and production companies are struggling. “Weekend warrior” musicians seem to be investing in themselves and enjoying the capabilities of their home studios – quite a few have invested in new higher quality and more affordable compact self-powered P.A. systems and small format consoles for even their theater-sized performances. While each show tends to focus on one instrument more than another is, this NAMM was all about the drummers. Yes, there are guitars in our list, but the most crowded booths were all about the percussive arts this time. Our “best of shows” are not Mac-specific, but they are really about quality and vision that stand out in the good times and bad while looking at value and growth to some degree. Great sounding gear this year and we had a few “finds” that we hope you will like. Let’s get right to it, shall we?

Waves Tony Maserati Plug-Ins Collection
There are so many plug-is that it is often difficult to find more than one or two great ones in a collection or bundle that really gives you what you want and need. In this case, Engineer Tony Maserati, who’s credits include mixing for Beyoncé, John Legend, Sting, David Bowie, Alicia Keys and many other, applies his touches to bring the best balance of sound and expansion to the input you may use most.

For each plug-in, the old-school analog appearance gives you an impression of the warmth and dynamics you may hear, but the sound is natural and allows the performer to sound like themselves and maintain the tactile appeal to the playing or subtle breathiness of the vocal. The collection includes the VX1 for vocals, DRM Drum Slammer, ACG for acoustic guitars, HMX harmonics generator, B72 bass “phattener,” and GTi for guitars.

These plug-ins are more about getting the most from your tracks as opposed to changing them and the quality is impressive. Each of the titles has its own simplified control set that eliminates any need for the useless “because we can” switch. Navigation is “common sense” and your may elevate your tracks from what sounds like you spent a few thousand bucks in a studio to recordings that may just earn you a lot more than that. 

Soultone Cymbals - Gospel Series
These beautifully made Turkish brass cymbals have a style all their own and the company is giving their mainstream competition a run for their money. Clearly, one of the busiest booths at the show, Soultone adds this rich sounding collection to their Vintage, Custom, and Extreme lines. The Gospel series feature larger bells than conventional cymbals, a fuller sustained sound without too many overtones, and a natural bounce with a more defined feel that is truly refreshing in the seemingly static world of the competitors.

The Soultone company has vision and sees the potential for creating something that marries the old school techniques with new ideas for performance – Soultone also offers to take descriptions from their artists to create specific cymbals and preferences. This is a great company with great products that should have all of the other cymbal companies very worried.

Tattletale Alarm Systems

We hear about it all the time. A touring band had all of their gear stolen and the call goes out in search of both the thieves and replacement equipment because “the show must go on!” Now there is some help with protecting the gear. This customizable, portable alarm system for musicians communicates over cellular telephone services directly to your mobile phone to alert you in seconds if/when the alarm triggers. The base unit has a built in PIR motion detector, 10-hour battery backup, 115 dB siren, a blinding strobe light and GSM radio that can connect to 95 percent of the cellular service areas in the country. There are also options for outdoor use that include a “Rattler” motion detector with magnets that attach the device to the inside of a van, truck, trailer, or you can just put it on top of any of your gear. The bottom line is, if it moves – you will know about it right away.

Another similar tethered option is “The Loop” with a cable attached to both ends and goes around your equipment. When the cable is cut or disconnects in any way, the alarm is triggers. There is also a dual-beam wireless motion detector available for even better coverage. All of these devices are wireless with up to a half-mile range and, with an optional extenders, it can operate a mile from the base unit. 

There is even more protection available with indoor sensors, a smoke detector, glass break detector, motion detector and door/window sensors, plus everything is wireless. If you are a musician, technician, production staff, or even for the more industrial business traveler, this is another layer of protection for you and your gear; however, and as experience tells us, be certain that you add “secured, monitored, and well-lit parking required at the initial load-in, throughout the event at the venue and at all accommodations for performers and production staff” to your rider.

Gibson – Dark Fire
Many have made noble efforts in the quest for the so-called “robotic guitar” that not only tunes itself, but also offers nearly limitless sonic possibilities. After a first attempt a little more than a year ago, Gibson assembled a team to respond to their admitted issues with the first generation and produced a follow-up version that is the closest-to-concept success that we have encountered to date.

First, and in case you are wondering, the signature Gibson sound and feel is all there, but it goes way beyond that. They include Guitar Rig 3 from Native Instruments, Ableton Live 7 and all of the hardware (beyond your computer) to get you going. Again, the sounds that you can achieve are nearly limitless with the combination of pickups. Their new P-90h is on top, the Burstbucker 3 on the bottom and a piezo bridge pickup are all on-board that take the reigns off your playing. These pickups can emulate single and double coil humbuckers, single-coils, or even the sounds of their competitors. While this is not a guitar that has street cred just yet, it definitely will be in the future.

A tasteful edge to the classic Les Paul body makes you look twice, but you will listen longer as you search for an amp that will appreciate what you can do with this feat of modern technologies. It may be worth the initial verbal beat-down you may get if you take this out at a gig, but only after everyone stares at – then listens to – then realizes that this is not your father’s, grandfather’s, or old brother’s Gibson by a long shot.

Markbass – Micromark bass amplifier
Who’d a thunk an itsy, bitsy, tiny bass amp with a six-inch speaker can sound as good as this one does? Think of it like an original Pignose amp, but for bass players – O.K., four-string bass players as any fifth string is just not going to be audible out of this little gem. At less than 9×9 x 9 inches and weighing just over nine pounds, this 50 watt micro monster not only sounds great at practice levels in your condo, but turn it up and it generates enough clean, full sound to be a fine choice for acoustic and smaller “songwriter” type gigs. Electric show?

Maybe not, but you may be very surprised by how well that Mark Bass sound comes through. On the top of the amp is your standard volume knob but try the VPF (variable pre-shape filter) knob. Turn the VPF all the way up and this little baby’s sound is reminiscent of an SVT. The bass gets boosted, the mids get scooped, but the performance is much quieter, of course.

There is a line-in connector for jamming along to your favorite CDs or an iPod, plus a standard 1/4-inch output jack for practicing with your personal monitors or standard headphones. Some other well thought out features include a speaker mute switch, a pre-amp line out, ground lift switch and a tweeter-out (hi-passed) for a satellite tweeter. Big sound, super-small package. 

Sonic Reality – Ocean Way Drums Expandable Series
If your ears are never quite pleased by your results from that never-ending quest for “real drum” sounds, everything changes today. According to the good people we met with during our demo, these sampled drum kits were recorded at Ocean Way Studios’ B room, but we wouldn’t care if they were recorded in the back of a Winnebago with this level of audio quality. Powered by the Kontakt engine, these RTAS, VST, and AU supported plug-ins are in 24-bit/48k samples with each instrument going to its own fader.

The results are incredibly natural, realistic acoustic drum sounds that have the subtle dynamics that are often lacking in even the best samples. A nice option is that you can purchase each instrument via download individually so that expansion is more affordable and based on the need(s). With the drums, the options for dry and ambient, and a playable sound library, and output that really has the feel of real drums, the name Ocean Way is a brand that represents great audio quality. This collection lives up to that reputation with honors.

GuitarGuard – Strat Jacket and Gibskin
Of course, the weathered guitar that has the marks of years of worn away finishes and scratches that are the signature of some types of music (in fact, Fender released a “road worn” series of new guitars!) but that may not be what you want on your new $1,200 American Standard Deluxe Telecaster – yet. These guitar skins are smooth, bold, and do not cover up too much of the finish of the guitar body.

Available in both Stratocaster and Les Paul forms, the skins are available in black, blue and red colors and you will not need to buy a new case since there is barely any added thickness to the instrument. The company reports using “eco-friendly” materials as well and offers a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee with their GuitarGuards. No friction, fewer scratches, but you still cannot just lay your guitar propped up against your amp and assume that it won’t fall down, go boom.

Roland TU-1000 – Stage Tuner
Making tuning changes on stage may be a far simpler task with guitar techs or even a nice strobe-type tuner in your rack, but most floor tuners are just too small and difficult to see – especially under stage lighting. Roland’s latest addition to their line is sixteen-inches wide, super-bright, easy to navigate, and runs in both meter-style and stream visual modes.

Turn it on and it mutes your instrument silently, without pops, and you are free to twist your tuners to whatever tunings suit you. One item of note is that the footswitch accessory is optional and recommended. While this is not exactly a stomp box by any means, the tunes are in tune and you can be certain with less squinting, scrambling and fumbling with cables thanks to Roland’s latest.

Tascam DP-004 PocketStudio
If you want to get some tracks recorded, but dragging your Mac along is just too much to handle, the uber-compact, six-inch sized addition to Tascam’s multitrack recorders that may rock your world is the DP-004 4-track digital recorder. Mic/line or guitar level inputs are selected on the side of the unit or you can use the front-side built-in stereo microphones making this a simple to use device and a great way to record a random brainstorming session.

Like the old days of the PortaOne, you can bounce tracks and make simple sub-mixes, but drop them on your Mac later via the USB 2.0 connector. This 44.1kHz/16-bit recorder takes SD card storage and comes with 1Gb standard. Another nice feature is that the DP-004 will run on high-quality AA batteries, but the power adapter is always recommended (optional). 

Yamaha LLX6a Acoustic Guitar 
Yamaha makes a lot of varied products in a huge range of markets, but their guitars don’t get nearly the attention of, for example, their pianos or drums in the musical instrument market. While the company continues to innovate in this market, some items were perceived as gimmicks over the years.

With that said, there was skepticism although it ended up equally impressive in terms of the sound. In their newer models, Yamaha makes strides in creating traditional looking instruments that bring in new materials and technologies to improve the tone and feel of the instruments and the LLX6a is the perfect example. Yamaha’s team ended up going beyond traditional pickups by employing specially tuned microphones that are strategically in place on the interior of the body of the guitar.

This helps to capture the natural acoustics of the instrument, but without the transducers going out of phase by using Yamaha’s A.R.T. (acoustic resonance transducer) system. Each of the three internal pickups has its own level control so that the right blend takes place when amplified, but it is a fine acoustic sound as well. The LLX6a also has a built-in tuner as well as a 3-band EQ and a pre-amp system that is the same type found in their higher end models. The results are warmer, less “jangly,” and there is far less need for heavy equalization. Indeed, it seems that Yamaha’s acoustic guitars may be catching up to their more percussive siblings.

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